Meo will broadcast Benfica Channel
Friday, August 29, 2008
After the announcement of the transmission of the television channels of the five biggest football clubs as of 15 September, Meo surprises its customers, football fans, once again as it will start broadcasting the Benfica Channel. This channel will be made available exclusively on PT’s television service, as stated by Zeinal Bava, Portugal Telecom’s CEO, during the signature of the agreement at the Luz Stadium
Meo will consolidate its offer, once again, with the first channel of a Portuguese football
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Zeinal Bava and Luís Filipe Vieira | club: Benfica Channel, in the same week of the announcement of the transmission of the television channels of the five big European football clubs – Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid (read about it on éPT!).
This is one of the channels most awaited by Portuguese football fans in recent times and will be available on the IPTV and Satellite platforms. Via IPTV, this channel will become part of the Sports Pack and can be integrated into the base pack at no additional cost, as via Satellite, Benfica Channel will become part of the Meo Mix Pack.
“The exclusive launch of this channel on Meo consolidates Meo’s bet on the differentiation of content in this country. Today, Portugal Telecom, through Meo, is the only operator that can offer telephone, internet and television throughout the country, in an innovative service”, explained Zeinal Bava, PT’s CEO.
Through the integration of the Benfica Channel, Meo interactive television service stands out in the market and presents itself as the largest Portuguese subscription television operator, with the most extensive offer in terms of sports content, providing 18 channels altogether: Sport TV 1, 2 and 3; Eurosport, Eurosport 2, Eurosport News, Eurosport HD, PFC, NASN, Motors TV, AB Moteurs, ESPN Classic, Real Madrid TV, Barça TV, Manchester United TV, Chelsea TV and Inter Channel.
As the launch is scheduled to the last quarter of 2008, Benfica TV will make known the “red” club’s novelties by means of interviews, news programs, among other contents.
The exclusive launch of Benfica TV is part of the new sponsorship contract – that extends the presence of PT’s brands on the club’s shirts up to the 2010/2011 season (as contracted with the other clubs - Sporting and Porto) – and consolidates the strategy of provision of innovative and quality content, associated to a technologically pioneering offer.
Luís Filipe Vieira, Benfica’s chairman, spoke about the extension of the contract and about the partnership reached between the Benfica Channel and Meo. “Benfica TV has been a commitment of this management. Therefore, I am very pleased to announce the partnership with Meo, with the first platform through which the Benfica Channel will be distributed”.
The connection between PT and football goes beyond the provision of television and internet content and is also associated with the support for the Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Futebol Clube do Porto teams. Portugal Telecom is the official sponsor of Benfica’s main football team, a partnership that extends beyond Portugal, such as the presence of the Unitel and CV Móvel brands during the recent tour of the Benfica team in Angola and Cape Verde.
The sponsorship to several events such as the Bicycle Tour of Portugal and the support for athletes from several sports disciplines, such as the “Dream Team”, demonstrate PT’s constant support for sports, which is not confined to football.
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